Czech No.2 seed sinks Aussie Tamika Saxby in Dutch final
By HOWARD HARDING – Squash Mad Correspondent
Czech number one Lucie Fialova doubled her collection of WSA World Tour titles when she beat Australia’s Tamika Saxby in the final of the Women’s Rotterdam Open, the WSA Tour 5 event at Victoria Squash in the Dutch city of Rotterdam.
Second seed Fialova earned her place in the eighth Tour final of her career after beating US rival Sabrina Sobhy, the event’s third seed, in a five-game battle which lasted almost an hour.
Saxby, the fifth seed from New South Wales, made her breakthrough in the quarter-finals when she took out Ireland’s top seed Aisling Blake in three games.
But the Czech star was too strong for Saxby in the pair’s first Tour meeting. Fialova took control from the outset, needing only 33 minutes to close out the match 11-6, 11-7, 11-1.
“I knew Tamika beat first-placed Aisling Blake yesterday, and she looked fresh coming onto the court,” said the 26-year-old from Prague. “However, I was not nervous when I started the match, and really just tried to be comfortable and enjoy it from the start.
“Tamika started out very strong, but then started to make mistakes that I managed to use to my advantage!”
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Women’s Rotterdam Open, Rotterdam, Netherlands:
1st round:
[1] Aisling Blake (IRL) bt [Q] Anna Klimundova (CZE) 11-6, 11-4, 5-11, 11-5 (43m)
[5] Tamika Saxby (AUS) bt Victoria Temple Murray (ENG) 7-11, 11-7, 11-9, 11-4 (41m)
[4] Lotte Eriksen (NOR) bt [WC] Sanne Veldkamp (NED) 11-2, 11-4, 11-3 (18m)
[7] Birgit Coufal (AUT) bt [Q] Franziska Hennes (GER) 11-7, 11-4, 5-11, 9-11, 11-5 (40m)
Nele Gilis (BEL) bt [6] Cyrielle Peltier (FRA) 10-12, 11-4, 11-9, 11-6 (51m)
[3] Sabrina Sobhy (USA) bt [Q] Lily Taylor (ENG) 11-6, 7-11, 11-4, 11-2 (27m)
[Q] Leonie Holt (ENG) bt [8] Maud Duplomb (FRA) 11-8, 12-10, 11-7 (20m)
[2] Lucie Fialova (CZE) bt Linda Hruzikova (SVK) 11-7, 11-8, 11-5 (32m)
Quarter-finals:
[5] Tamika Saxby (AUS) bt [1] Aisling Blake (IRL) 11-9, 11-5, 11-8 (25m)
[7] Birgit Coufal (AUT) bt [4] Lotte Eriksen (NOR) 11-9, 12-10, 5-11, 11-9 (39m)
[3] Sabrina Sobhy (USA) bt Nele Gilis (BEL) 8-11, 11-8, 11-3, 11-9 (34m)
[2] Lucie Fialova (CZE) bt [Q] Leonie Holt (ENG) 11-4, 7-11, 11-5, 11-4 (34m)
Semi-finals:
[5] Tamika Saxby (AUS) bt [7] Birgit Coufal (AUT) 11-8, 11-9, 11-5 (35m)
[2] Lucie Fialova (CZE) bt [3] Sabrina Sobhy (USA) 12-10, 8-11, 11-4, 7-11, 11-9 (54m)
Final:
[2] Lucie Fialova (CZE) bt [5] Tamika Saxby (AUS) 11-6, 11-7, 11-1 (33m)
Picture courtesy of WSA